Brushes for cleaning glasses and other drinking vessels

ABSTRACT

One kind of device for cleaning glasses, tankards and other drinking vessels comprises a central brush having an upright core made of rubber or rubber-like material with integrally formed radially projecting fingers and a group of similar brushes arranged around the central brush, all of the brushes preferably being rotated by a driving mechanism, although they may be stationary. Each of the brushes is provided, in addition to the radially projecting fingers, with a ring of closely spaced radially projecting bristles, the rings of bristles meshing with each other and preferably having their inner ends fixed to a rigid ring which is detachably fixed to the core of rubber or rubber-like material.

United States Patent Durham 1 1 July 11, 1972 [54] BRUSHES FOR CLEANING GLASSES [56] References Cited AND OTHER DRINKING VESSELS UNlTED STATES PATENTS [72} Inventor: Charles Edward Durham, London, En- 3,092,863 6/1963 Linnit ..15/76 land a FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS :1 ElectriWhLlltedL- [73] Asslgm C muss c er on 1,224,363 2/1960 France ..l5/76 don, England [221 Filed: April 6, 1971 Primary Examiner-Edward L. Roberts Attorney-Holcombe. Wetheriil & Brisebois [21] App1.N0.: 131,651

[57] ABSTRACT [30] F r ign App icat o io i y D818 One kind of device for cleaning glasses, tankards and other drinking vessels comprises a central brush having an upright 1970 Great Bmam "16l28/70 core made of rubber or rubber-like material with integrally formed radially projecting fingers and a group of similar [52] U.S. Cl ..15/76, 15/101, 15/1049, brushes arranged around the central brush a" f h brushes /1 /1 15/211 preferably being rotated by a driving mechanism, although [51 Int. Cl. ..A47l 15/38, 1367c 1/08 they may be stationary. Each of the brushes is provided, in ad- [58] Field of Search 1.15/7 1-73, 75, 76, dition to the radially projecting fing Wilh ng f ly spaced radially projecting bristles, the rings of bristles meshing with each other and preferably having their inner ends fixed to a rigid ring which is detachably fixed to the core of rubber or rubber-like material.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures i 1 :1 ID

PATENTEUJLIL 1 1 m2 3, 675 263 SHEEI 2 0F 2 min;

BRUSHES FOR CLEANING GLASSES AND OTHER DRINKING VESSELS One kind of device for cleaning glasses, tankards and other drinking vessels comprises a central brush having an upright core with radially projecting fingers and a group of similar brushes arranged around the central brush.

in a simple fonn of the device for use in a sink or bowl filled with water, the brushes are stationary and a glass or other drinking vessel to be cleaned is pushed over the central brush and is then manually turned to and fro and moved upwards and downwards so that the fingers of the central brush clean it inside and the fingers ot' the outer brushes clean it outside. In a more sophisticated form of the device, the brushes are enclosed within an open-topped container which, in use, contains washing liquid and a driving mechanism is provided for rotating the brushes about the axes of their cores. With this form of device, it is only necessary to push the glass or other drinking vessel downwards over the central brush and hold it in position and it is then cleaned as the brushes rotate.

In existing devices of the kind described above, all the brushes have central cores made of rubber or rubber-like material and the fingers are formed integrally with the core. These devices, especially when power operated, have been found to operate quite satisfactorily, except that they will not always satisfactorily remove stubborn dirt such as grease and lipstick.

The aim of the present invention is to improve brushes for devices of the kind described so that they will remove such stubborn dirt with greater reliability.

According to this invention, a brush for use in a device of the kind described for cleaning glasses, tankards and other drinking vessels has a core of rubber or rubber-like material with integrally formed radially projecting fingers and also has a ring of closely spaced radially projecting bristles.

Preferably this ring of bristles is arranged near that end of the brush which is at the top when the brush is fitted in position in the cleaning device.

We have found, rather surprisingly, that the addition of a ring of bristles, which may be either natural or of synthetic plastics material such as nylon, greatly improves the efiiciency of the brushes particularly in the removal of stubborn dirt such as grease and lipstick as already mentioned.

There is a tendency for the ring of bristles to wear out rather more rapidly than the fingers of the brush and preferably therefore the bristles are fixed at their inner ends to a rigid ring and the rigid ring is detachably fixed to the core. The core may be tubular and be closed at one end, as is usual, with further integrally formed fingers projecting upwardly and outwardly from the closed end. In this case the rigid ring is preferably split and the tubular core is collapsable. The width of the split is such that the rubber core can be pushed through it when the core is squeezed flat to enable the ring of bristles to be detached from the core. With this arrangement the ring of bristles can be replaced when they become worn and also, if necessary, they can be removed from the brushes for cleaning purposes if they should become in any way clogged with dirt.

To locate the ring of bristles in an axial direction on the core, the core may have a peripheral groove in which the rigid ring fits.

In a preferred example the core has two peripheral grooves axially spaced apart from each other and the rigid ring then fits in either one or the other of the grooves. This arrangement is desirable when the brushes are intended for use in a device in which the brushes are power driven because the central brush is then located at a slightly higher level than the brushes which surround it. It is desirable that the rings of bristles on the brushes of the device should all be at the same level as each other so that when the brushes are rotating the rings of bristles on the central brush and the rings of bristles on the surrounding brushes will mesh with each other as the brushes rotate as this provides excellent self-cleaning characteristics. The two peripheral grooves in the cores are then spaced apart from each other by the same distance as that by which the central brush is raised above the surrounding brushes. The rigid ring carrying the bristles of the central brush is then located in the lower groove in the core and the rigid rings holding the bristles of the surrounding brushes are located in the upper grooves of these brushes so that the rings of bristles are then all at the same level as each other.

An example of a brush, and of a device of the kind described incorporating a number of such brushes are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device with a part broken away to show details of the arrangement of the brushes;

FIG. 2 is a side view of one of the brushes shown partly in section and showing also in chain-dotted outline the adjacent central brush to show the relationship of the positions of the two brushes; and,

FIG. 3 is a sectional plan of the brush shown in FIG. 2 as seen in the direction of the arrows on the line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the brush comprises a tubular core I which is moulded out of rubber and has an open bottom end 2 and a top end closed by an integrally formed dome 3. A large number of fingers 4 are moulded integrally with the core I and project radially from it. Further fingers 5 project outwards and upwards from the domed end 3.

The core I has an internally thickened portion 6 and in this portion it is formed with upper and lower external peripheral grooves 7 and 8 respectively.

A ring of closely spaced bristles 9 have their inner ends clamped in a split metal ring 10 which is channel-shaped in cross-section. As is shown in FIG. 3, the split metal ring II] has a slit ll of such a peripheral extent that when the core 1, which is collapsable, is squeezed flat, it can be passed through the slit. In this way the rigid metal ring 10 and the ring of bristles 9 which it carries can be fitted in either one of the two peripheral grooves 7 or 8.

The cleaning device as a whole which is shown in FIG. 1 and which, except for the nature of its brushes is of a quite well known kind, comprises an open-topped container 11 of transparent plastics material with a rigid rim 12 extending around its top opening 13. The container 11 is clamped in a liquid tight manner to a top plate 14 of a casing 15 which contains an electric motor which drives, through gearing within the casing 15, five vertical shafts 16 which project upwards through the plate 14. None of these parts of the device are illustrated in detail since they are all quite well known. The casing also has unions for coupling to hot and cold water supplies and to a drain.

The five shafts 16 are arranged symmetrically with one shaft at the center of the container 11 and the four further shafis arranged at the corners of a square and grouped around the central shaft. Each of the shafts carries a brush and all the brushes being as illustrated in FIG. 2 and 3 of the drawings.

The hot and cold water supply couplings are connected through flow control and shut-off valves one to each of a pair of outlet pipes 17. The outlet pipes 17 extend from the valves within the casing I5 upwards to just above the top of the container II. The upper ends of the pipes 17 are bent over as shown so that their open ends are directed downwards into the container 11 through its top opening 13. An open-topped overflow pipe 18 leads downwards from the container 11 through the plate I4 to the drain coupling. The electric motor which rotates the brushes, and the valves are controlled by a knob I9 which when turned full counterclockwise is in an "oEF position in which the motor is stopped and both valves are closed. As the knob is turned clockwise from its off" position the motor is at once switched on and progressive movement starts and increases a How of cold water, then a mixed flow of hot and cold water and finally shuts off the cold water supply and increases the flow of hot water alone.

Each one of the upright shafts 16 carries a brush constructed as shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. The core 1 of each of the brushes is a push fit on its shah l6 and the shaft 16 extends upwards to the bottom end of the portion 6 within the core.

The central shaft 16 is longer than the four shafts 16 which surround it and its top end is higher than that of the surrounding shafts by a distance equal to the vertical distance between the centers of the grooves 7 and 8. Thus the brush on the central shaft projects above these surrounding brushes by this distance as is shown most clearly in FIG. 2. As is also shown most clearly in FIG. 2, the rigid rings 10 carrying the rings of bristles 9 are fitted in the upper grooves 7 of the surrounding brushes and in the lower groove 8 of the central brush so that the rings of bristles are all at the same height as each other and the tips of the bristles mesh with each other.

To operate the machine, the switch 19 is moved from the oft position in a clockwise direction by an amount dependent on the temperature of the water which is required. The brushes are thus rotated and the container 11 is filled with cold, warm or hot water until the water overflows through the pipe 18. Arrangements are preferably made for metering a small proportion of detergent into the water as it flows into the container. These arrangements are however again conventional and are not therefore shown or described in detail.

In order to wash a glass or other drinking vessel, it is inverted and is pushed downwards over the central brush. lts rim passes downwards between the fingers 4 and the bristles 9 of the central brush and the fingers and bristles of the surrounding brushes. Those of the central brush scrub the inside of the glass and those of the surrounding brushes scrub the outside of the glass. The glass is moved upwards and downwards a few times manually so that its whole internal and external surfaces are scrubbed, it being at this time immersed in the washing liquid in the container 11.

When washing is complete, the glass is withdrawn and the next glass is cleaned in the same way. Only a very short time is necessary for complete cleaning both internally and externally ofthe glass and in particular ofits rim.

I claim:

l. A brush for use in a device of the kind described for cleaning glasses, tankards and other drinking vessels, said brush including a core or rubber-like material, a plurality of fingers formed integrally with said core and projecting radially therefrom and a ring of closely spaced bristles, said ring extending around said core and said bristles projecting radially from said core.

2. A brush as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a rigid ring detachably surrounding said core and means fixing said bristles at the inner ends thereof to said rigid ring.

3. A brush as claimed in claim 2, wherein said core is tubular, and further comprising means closing the upper end of said core and a plurality of further fingers formed integrally with said means closing said end of said core, said further fingers projecting upwardly and outwardly from said means.

4. A brush as claimed in claim 3, wherein said tubular core is collapsable and further comprising means defining a circumferentially extending slit in said rigid ring, the circumferential extent of said slit being such that said core, when collapsed, can be pushed through said slit to detach said ring from said core.

5. A brush as claimed in claim 4, further comprising means defining a peripheral groove in said core, said rigid ring being received in said groove to hold said bristles in position in a direction axially of said core.

6. A brush as claimed in claim 4, further comprising means defining two peripheral grooves in said core, said grooves being axially spaced apart from each other and said rigid ring being received selectively in either one of said grooves to hold said ring of bristles selectively in either one of two positions axially of said core.

7. in a device for cleaning glasses, tankards and other drinking vessels, said device comprising a central brush, said brush comprising a core of rubber-like material and a plurality of fingers formed integrally with said core and projecting radially therefrom, means mounting said central brush with said core upright, a plurality of similar brushes and means mounting said similar brushes around said central brush and with the cores thereof upright, the improvement comprising a ring of closely spaced bristles surrounding each of said cores and projecting radially therefrom.

8. A device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising an open-topped container enclosing said brushes and means for rotating said brushes about the axes of the cores thereof.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a plurality of rigid rings, means detachably mounting said rigid 0 rings one on each of said cores and means fixing said rings of bristles at the inner ends thereof to said rigid rings.

I t 1K I 

1. A brush for use in a device of the kind described for cleaning glasses, tankards and other drinking vessels, said brush including a core or rubber-like material, a plurality of fingers foRmed integrally with said core and projecting radially therefrom and a ring of closely spaced bristles, said ring extending around said core and said bristles projecting radially from said core.
 2. A brush as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a rigid ring detachably surrounding said core and means fixing said bristles at the inner ends thereof to said rigid ring.
 3. A brush as claimed in claim 2, wherein said core is tubular, and further comprising means closing the upper end of said core and a plurality of further fingers formed integrally with said means closing said end of said core, said further fingers projecting upwardly and outwardly from said means.
 4. A brush as claimed in claim 3, wherein said tubular core is collapsable and further comprising means defining a circumferentially extending slit in said rigid ring, the circumferential extent of said slit being such that said core, when collapsed, can be pushed through said slit to detach said ring from said core.
 5. A brush as claimed in claim 4, further comprising means defining a peripheral groove in said core, said rigid ring being received in said groove to hold said bristles in position in a direction axially of said core.
 6. A brush as claimed in claim 4, further comprising means defining two peripheral grooves in said core, said grooves being axially spaced apart from each other and said rigid ring being received selectively in either one of said grooves to hold said ring of bristles selectively in either one of two positions axially of said core.
 7. In a device for cleaning glasses, tankards and other drinking vessels, said device comprising a central brush, said brush comprising a core of rubber-like material and a plurality of fingers formed integrally with said core and projecting radially therefrom, means mounting said central brush with said core upright, a plurality of similar brushes and means mounting said similar brushes around said central brush and with the cores thereof upright, the improvement comprising a ring of closely spaced bristles surrounding each of said cores and projecting radially therefrom.
 8. A device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising an open-topped container enclosing said brushes and means for rotating said brushes about the axes of the cores thereof.
 9. A device as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a plurality of rigid rings, means detachably mounting said rigid rings one on each of said cores and means fixing said rings of bristles at the inner ends thereof to said rigid rings. 